Michael Jackson is the Highest Earning Celeb – Dead or Alive

The magazine crunched the numbers and the late Michael Jackson has earned more money in the past year than any other musician — dead or alive.

Between June 2012 and June 2013, Jackson’s estate earned $160 million. This surpassed the second-place earner Madonna, who made $125 million in that time span, by $35 million.

“It’s the third time in the past five years that the top-earning celebrity in the world has come from the graveyard,” reports Forbes.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Jackson’s earnings come from ”two Cirque du Soleil shows — one that tours, one housed at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Vegas — and his half of the Sony/ATV song catalog, which includes his own hits as well as tunes like ‘When a Man Loves a Woman.’”